Roll forming machines



May 17, 1966 c. w. WERNTZ ROLL FORMING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 5, 1965 FIG.6.

INVENTOR. CHARLES W. WERNTZ K FIG.4.

ATTORNEY y 1966 c. w. WERNTZ 3,251,210

ROLL FORMING MACHINES Filed June 5, 1963 2 Sheeis-$heet 2 heretofore possible with machines of its size.

United States Patent 3,251,21ti RG11, WIRE/ENG MACHINES Charles W. Werntz, Ferguson, Mo, assignor to Engel Equipment, inc, St. Louis, Mo, a corporation of Missouri Filed .i'une 3, 1963, Ser No. 285,442

9 (Claims. (Cl. 72-11%1) This invention relates to roll-former machines and in particular to a machine having simple upper and lower roll frame structure in which the forming depth may be increased at one or more roll stations, and individual rollpressure adjustments and fail-safe elements are provided.

The problems incurred in the design and operation of roll former equipment are well-known. Heretofore, increased capacity of forming depth has been achieved either by utilizing machines of large size or of great mechanical complexity. Certain relatively complex machines have been provided with individual roll pressure adjustments, but simpler machines have not generally been so equipped. Varying degrees of fail-safety have been achieved, usually at substantial expense; for example, some machines have been divided into modules of one roll station each, so that failure of the machine frame at one section would not damage the other sections. There has heretofore been no single coordinated approach to achieve all these desirable features.

The present invention affords a compact, relatively simple mechanism which achieves all these advantages. The roll former machine of the present invention may consist of one or more units, each having a convenient number of pairs of rolls, say four or five. Each machine unit has a pair of unitary side frames, including fixed-position lower. bearings for geared lower roll shafts; also interme diate gears which mesh with the gears on the lower roll shafts to constitute the units complete power train. Vertically adjustable guide mountings are provided for holders or bearing chocks which mount the upper rolls, whose gears mesh downwardly into and are driven by the gears of the corresponding lower rolls. The upper gears are not therefore part of the direct train. By inverting one or more of the upper roll holders, a higher roll axis position is made available; in which larger diameter rolls are utilized, driven by upper gears of correspondingly larger diameter but of the same circular pitch as the gears of the rolls beneath. This higher roll position provides greater forming depth capacity.

The upper roll holders at each station are placed under downward pressure by an adjustable screw and a spring pressure provision. A shear-off provision at each adjustment screw renders each station fail-safe; this encourages the use of the full capacity of the compact machine.

Where the number of roll stations provided by a single machine unit is insufficient a second unit is clampedly fixed in alignment with the first, with their pitch planes coincident; Such clamping is effected partly by the power train unit itself, which is geared to supply power to the gear trains of both the units which it connects.

This combination of unitary side frames, complete power gear train through the lower gears, choice of two heights for the upper roll axis, and individual station pressure adjustments. and fail-safe provisions, give the present compact machine effective capacity to perform work not The initial machine cost, roll cost and maintenance expense is lessened. The separate adjustment and spring loading provisions at each roll aid in developing the final dimensions of rolls for particular operations, and in taking up roll wear.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view, partly fragmentary,

3,251,21Q Patented May 17, 1966 showing two roll former machine'units coupled by a gear reducer power drive unit.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 33 of FIGURE 1, with the right upper roll bearing holder removed.

being shown in each of the fragmentary portions illustrated. By coupling the units structurally and mechanically as hereinafter described, such units may be used in combination; for example, a four-station machine unit and a five-station machine unit will together afford nine roll stations, A typical roll station is shown in FIG- URE 3.

Each of the machine units 11, 12 has a pair of left and right unitary side frames 13, 14 preferably formed by casting in patterns which provide integral bosses 1S and reinforcing ribs 16 as in FIGURE 1. Through a row of the bosses 15 below the level of the lower roll shafts, lower spacer bolts 17 are provided as in FIGURE 2; similarly, upper spacer bolts 18 are provided through the bosses 15; and by the spacer bolts 17, 18 the unitary frames 13, 14 are held rigidly parallel and spaced apart. Suitable supporting means for the machine is provided, as by vertical angles 19 bolted along the bottom margin of the left side frame 13. Equivalent mounting provision is made for the right side frame 14, except in the center region illustrated in FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2, wherein the power drive unit hereinafter described also serves to couple the two machine units 11, 12 structurally as well as: mechanically.

Immediately inward of the right side frame 14, mounted for rotation as idlers on the lower spacer bolts 17, are gears referred to as the intermediate gears 21 of the gear train hereinafter described.

Supported in lower roll shaft bearings 22, aligned in a plane 12 and mounted through the bosses 15 at a level above those which support the lower spacer bolts 17, are lower roll shafts 23, having woodrulf key provisions 24 by which the lower forming rolls 25, shown cross-hatched in FIGURES 2 and 3 and located between the spaced walls 13, 14; and the outboard lower forming rolls 26, mounted outboard of the walls 13, 14 and shown in phantom lines.

Inward of the right wall 14,, lower roll shaft gears 27, each having the same pitch radius, are keyed to the several lower roll shafts 23. The pitch radius of the gears 27 establishes a pitch plane a at a level which is a fixed distance x above the plane b of the lower roll shaft bearings 22. These gears 27 are in meshing relationship with the intermediate gears 21 which rotate freely on the lower spacer bolts 17, thus establishing in each machine unit 11, 12 a continuous gear train mounted below the pitch plane a.

Each of the side frames I3, 14 is provided with means located above each of the lower roll supporting shafts 23, to support an upper roll shaft bearing subject to such substantial vertical adjustment that the forming depth above the pitch plane may be substantially greater than that below the pitch plane. Using the cast side frames 13, 14 illustrated, the preferred means are window-like openings 30, of upright rectangular shape, having reinforcing frame edges 31 integrally cast. Projecting inward into right side of FIGURE 3. These are in effect tongue-like slide segments, spaced approximately mid-way between the outer and inner surfaces of the frames 31. Irefcn ably, each of the vertical guides 32, 33 is of a depth slightly less than one-fourth of the height of the opening 3%; the lower guides 33 are located in the bottom one-fourth of the opening depth and the upper guides 32 are aligned with them and spaced away from them vertically somewhat more than the guide depth, but nevertheless below the upper one-fourth of the depth of the openings 30.

At the mid-point of the top of each upper frame portion 31 is a reinforcing boss 35 which swells the width of the frame 31 somewhat cylindrically. Each boss 35 has a central vertical bore 36 which slidingly accommodates the vertical pin of a pressure adjustment and failsafe mechanism described hereinafter.

The vertical guides 32, 33 are used for lateral support and vertical sliding of the upper roll bearing holders generally designated 37, shown in the enlarged view, FIG- URES 4 and 5. Each bearing holder 37 is somewhat rectangular, having parallel top and bottom edge elements 38a and parallel vertical grooved or channel-like edge elements 38b. Their channel-like form is achieved by cutting them inwardly with vertical side grooves 39, of

sufiiciently greater width and depth and thickness than the upper and lower guides 32, 33 to provide a tongueand-groove sliding fit thereon. Rectangular side cutouts 4t) extend inwardly the full depth of the grooves 39, removing the material on both sides of the grooves 39, at mid-height of the bearing holders 37. Each of these cut-outset) is of greater depth than the depth of the guides 32, 33. Hence, a bearing holder 37 may be placed in each window 3t? by inserting it near the top of the window 30 so the cut-outs it) pass over the upper guides 32, then letting it slide downward with the guides 32, 33 engaging the grooves 39 as shown in the partly broken away part of FIGURE 1.

Both top and bottom edge elements 38a of the bearing holder 37 are drilled and tapped vertically at their centers to provide the tapped bores 41.

Bearings 42 are secured within bearing bores 43, drilled horizontally through the bearing holders 37 and aligned with their vertical center lines 0, but displaced vertically from the rnid-level d, by a distance y, as shown in FIG- URE 4. The bearing holders 37 are invertible, as will be apparent from FIGURE 4; so they may be received within the windows 3% either With the bearing 4-3 below the mid-level d or above it. By changing a bearing holder 37 from its position shown in FIGURE 2 to that of FIG- URE 3, the axis of the bearing 42 will be raised a distance equal to 2y. By this means, an alternate upper roll ax s may be establised at any one or more roll stations. Only such stations will require the larger upper rolls and gears shown in FIGURE 3. In FIGURE 2 the upper roll axis e is shown at the level established by the bearing holder 37 when the bearing 42 is below center, as in FIGURE 4. By turning the bearing holder 37 upside down, the hearing 42 is brought above center; hence the upper roll axis e as shown in FIGURE 3 is spaced above the pitch plane the distance x plus 2y.

Upper roll shafts 46 are equipped with key provisions 24 by which central upper forming rolls 47, 47 are secured between the frame walls 13, i4, and by which supplementary rolls 48, 48 may optionally be secured outboard of the walls. The designations 4-7, 48 are utilized for the upper rolls of larger diameter as shown in FIGURE 3, that is, those used when a shaft 46 is at the elevated level Between the central upper forming rolls 47, 47 and the, right side frame 14, there is mounted on each upper roll shaft 46 an upper roll gear 51, sit (the latter designation being for the larger diameter gears used when the shaft axis is at its upper location e). The gears 51, 5t. have the same circular pitch as each other and as the gears 27 on the lower roll shaft 23, with which they are aligned laterally and into which they mesh from above. The term circular pitch is used in its accepted sense, as the distance measured linearly along the pitch circle from a point on one gear tooth to the corresponding point on the next gear tooth. The pitch radius of gears 51 is greater by the amount 2y than the pitch radius of a gear 51 and the number of teeth will be proportionately greater. The simple meshing arrangement permits easy change from smaller to larger size rolls and gears. Yet, those surface portions on the upper forming rolls 47, 47' which are presented at the pitch plane will be driven at the same peripheral speed as the mating surface portions of the lower rolls 25, regardless how the forming depth capacity is modified. The result is, that at the pitch plane there will be no difference in peripheral speed or slip etween upper and lower rolls, regardless which diameter upper rolls are used.

Gne of the features of the present invention is that the downward pressure on the upper roll shaft 46 necessary to form metal progressively is separately adjustable at each roll station, on both sides. Such pressure is applied by means of the bearing holders 37, and is reacted through the frame bosses as hereinafter described, without danger of breaking out the frames 13, 14 above the windows 39.

Comparing the left side of FIGURE 3 with the right side there shown, in each vertical bore 36 is slidingly fitted a strong steel pin 54 threaded at its upper and lower ends to receive the upper adjusting nuts 55 and the lower and upper jam nuts 56, 57. Spacedly above its threaded lower end, each pin 54'. has a groove 58 which receives a metal retaining ring 59, as shown in FIGURE 6. This may be a simple, springably split ring, formed sufficiently thin to be shearable by overloads at the roll station. When fitted into its groove 58, each retaining ring 59 projects sufficiently outward from the surface of the pin 54 to support above it the inner perimeter of a strong, upwardly cupped washer 69, formed preferably of springy steel, which fits loosely on the pin 54. The outer periphery of the washer 6t} bears upwardly against the undersurface of the boss 35 as shown in FIGURE 3, to react the force transmitted from the tapped bore 41 and lower jam nut 56 upwardly through the pin 54. Screwing the pin farther into or out of the bore 41 serves to adjust this force. The upper adjusting nut 55 on the upper threaded end of the pin 54 is tightened to apply pro-compression to the spring-like washer 6h. The upper jam nut 57 is tightened against the adjusting nut 55 to fix this pre-cornpression.

Minor variations in roll configuration, due to imperfect design or wear, make these separate adjustments highly useful.

Should excessive force be applied as between the rolls (as for example by the insertion of sheet material of greater thickness or rigidity than that which can be tolerated) the pin 54 will press the retaining ring 59 upward, tending to shear it between the inner perimetral edge of the cupped washer es and the lower surface of the groove 58. An overload will cause it to shear off, permitting the pin 54 to raise upward slidingly andharmlessly within the bore 36. The only machine part damaged by such overload is the readily-replaced retaining ring 59. This failsafe provision encourages the use of the full capacity of the machine. Were it not for this feature, the unitary side frames 13, 1 5 would be endangered by overloads. Hence the fail-safe provision makes their unitary construction feasible and highly advantageous.

Assuming that the number of roll stations required for the operation is greater than furnished by a single machine unit, two units 11, 12 are mounted together, as shown in FIGURE 1, with their walls 13, 14 respectively in alignment and their pitch planes at coinciding. Part of the mounting which couples them, structurally as well as mechanically, is a conventional speed-reducing power drive unit generally designated 65. It is powered from an electric motor, not shown, through a V-belt 66 and sheave 66 by which rotary power is transmitted through a series of speed-reducing gears. At the section shown in FIG. 2, one of such speed-reducing gears 67, mounted on the shaft 68, delivers power to a spur gear 69 below and between the two machine units 11, 12. In a journal mounting 70, elevated above the main portion of the power drive unit 65, and presented between the machine units 11, 12 is a principal drive gear shaft 71 on which is mounted a principal drive gear 72, driven by the spur gear 69. The principal drive gear 72 has the same circular pitch as the gears 27. It meshes with the gears 27 at the adjacent stations of both machine units 11, 12. In this manner, power supplied through the V-belt 66 through the speed reducer 65 is delivered to the lower gear trains of both machine units 11, 12, coupling them together.

As is conventional, the speed-reducing power drive unit 65 includes a pair of spaced vertical plates 73, supporting bearings for the shafts 68 upon which the several speed-reducing gears 67 are mounted. The right side plate 73, bolted to the lower margins of the right side frames 14 of both machine units 11, 12, their support angles 19 being interrupted in this area. Such bolting assures precise coupling of the gear trains of the units 11, 12 to the speed-reducing power drive unit 65 and to each other. Supplementary conventional structure such as the laterally extending support angle 75 may be used to mount the power drive unit 72 to the frame angles 19.

It will be apparent that modifications in details of structure and mechanism may be made without departing from the inventive concepts herein disclosed. Accordingly, the present invention is not to be construed narrowly but rather as fully coextensive with the claims hereof.

I claim:

1. A roll former machine characterized by greater capacity of forming depth at one side of the pitch plane than the other, comprising a pair of vertical, parallel, spaced walls,

a plurality of lower roll shaft bearings aligned in a plane,

roll support shafts mounted in said bearings extending between said walls.

each shaft having a gear of the same pitch radius, whereby to establish a pitch plane at a fixed level above the plane of the lower roll shaft bearings,

rotatable gears supported intermediate and in meshing relationship with the gears on said shafts, whereby to provide a continuous gear train,

together with means above each of the lower roll-supporting shafts to establish an upper roll shaft bearing spacing above the pitch plane different from the spacing of the lower roll shaft bearings below the pitch plane,

upper roll shafts supported on said means,

a gear on each said upper roll shaft of the same circular pitch as the gear on the lower roll shaft therebeneath, and meshing therewith,

the pitch radius of such upper gears corresponding to the spacing of the upper roll shaft bearings above the pitch plane,

whereby the peripheral speed of the upper and lower rolls at the pitch plane is the same despite said difference in their spacings.

2. A roll former machine as defined in claim 1,

the said means to position the upper roll shaft bearings including means to establish an alternate upper roll shaft bearing spacing from the pitch plane equal to the spacing of the lowerroll shaft bearings therebeneath.

3. A roll former machine comprising a pair of vertical, parallel, spaced walls,

a plurality of lower roll shaft bearings aligned in a plane,

roll-supporting shafts mounted in said bearings extending betweensaid walls,

each shaft having a gear of the same pitchradius,

whereby to establish a pitch plane at a fixed level above the plane of the lower roll shaft bearings, rotatable gears supported intermediate and in meshing relationship with the gears on said shafts, whereby to establish a continuous gear train, the walls further having openings spaced above each of said lower roll shaft bearings,

vertical guides adjacent to each of said openings,

upper roll bearing holders within the openings and engaged by said guides,

adjustable means to apply downward pressure to each of said upper roll bearing holders,

each of said roll bearing holders having a bearing,

upper roll supporting shafts mounted in said bearings,

and

a gear on each upper roll shaft of the same circular pitch as the gear on the lower roll shaft therebeneath and meshing therewith characterized in the upper roll bearing holders being invertible and having parallel vertical edge elements and parallel top and bottom edge elements,

and the bearing in each holder being positioned midway between said vertical edge elements and vertically away from the mid-level between their upper and lower edge elements,

whereby to establish alternate upper roll axis positions at different spacings above the pitch plane by overturning the holders to reverse the positions of their upper and lower edge elements.

4. A roll former machine as defined in claim 3,

said means to apply downward pressure including spring means, whereby the force of said spring means is exertible selectively to that edge element of the bearing holder which is in upper position.

5. A roll former machine as defined claim 3,

said means to apply downward pressure including a vertical pin extending between that edge element of the bearing holder which is in upper position and the wall portion thereabove,

said pin having a lower portion in downward pressureapplying relation to that edge element of the bearing holder which is in upper position, and having an upper portion connected in pressure-resisting relation with the wall portion thereabove,

and spring means coupled to the pin and interposed in pressure-communicating relationship between the bearing holder and the said wall portion thereabove.

6. A roll former machine as defined in claim 3,

said means to apply downward pressure including a vertical pin extending between and having end portions adjacent to that edge element of the bearing holder which is in upper position and the wall portion thereabove, and

shearable means, mounted on the pin between its said end portions, to react in shear the upward forces exerted between the bearing holder and the frame, whereby to fail safely in shear whenever said forces reach overload magnitude.

7. A roll former machine as defined in claim 6,

the said pin having a screw adjustment provision.

8. A roll former machine comprising two roll forming machine units, adjacent and in linear alignment, each unit including a pair of vertical, parallel, spaced walls,

a plurality of lower roll shaft bearings aligned in a plane,

roll-supporting shafts mounted in said bearings extending between said walls,

each shaft having a gear of the same pitch radius, whereby to establish a pitch plane at a fixed level above the plane of the lower roll shaft bearings,

rotatable gears supported intermediate and in meshing relationship with the gears on said shafts, whereby to establish a continuous gear train,

reversible upper roll bearing holders and bearings therein above each of the lower roll shaft bearings, said bearing holders having upper and lower edge elements, said bearings being positioned away from the vertical mid-level between said edge elements, whereby to establish alternate upper roll axis positions,

vertical guides mounting said upper roll bearing holders,

means to apply downward pressure to each of said upper roll bearing holders,

upper roll supporting shafts mounted in the bearings thereof, and

a gear on each upper roll shaft of the same circular pitch as the gear on the lower roll shaft therebeneath and meshing therewith,

in combination with a power drive unit interposed between the two adjacent linear aligned machine units,

said power drive unit including means to hold said adjacent roll former machine units in such linear alignment and with their pitch planes coinciding,

gear means to couple the gear trains of said units to each other, and

means to convey rotary power to said coupling gear means from a power supply source.

9. A roll former machine comprising a pair of parallel spaced walls,

a first plurality of roll shaft bearings aligned in a plane,

a first plurality of roll supporting shafts mounted in said bearings and extending between said Walls,

each shaft having a gear of the same pitch radius,

whereby to establish a pitch plane at a fixed distance from the plane of the said first plurality of roll shaft bearings,

power train drive means to interconnect all of said gears and drive them in the same direction of rotation,

the walls further having guide means directed to and away from each of said roll shaft bearings,

movable roll bearing holders engaged by each of said guide means on the side of the pitch plane opposite to said first plurality of roll shaft bearings,

means to apply pressure to each of said roll bearing holders whereby to direct them toward such pitch plane,

each of said movable roll bearing holders having one of a second plurality of roll shaft bearings,

a second plurality of roll supporting shafts mounted in said second plurality of bearings opposite the first plurality of shafts, and

a gear on each said second plurality of roll shafts of the same circular pitch as the gear on the opposite roll shaft and meshing therewith,

characterized in the movable roll bearing holders having edge elements near to and remote from the pitch plane, and

the bearing in each said holder being positioned away from the mid-level between their near and remote edge elements,

whereby to establishing alternate roll axis positions at different spacings from the pitch plane.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/1931 Rafter 7218l 2/1948 Dettman 72-181 XR 3/1952 Ingels' 72181 XR 1/1963 Decker et al 100-168 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

49 C. H. HITTSON, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A ROLL FORMER MACHINE CHARACTERIZED BY GREATER CAPACITY OF FORMING DEPTH AT ONE SIDE OF THE PITCH PLANE THAN THE OTHER, COMPRISING A PAIR OF VERTICAL, PARALLEL, SPACED WALLS, A PLURALITY OF LOWER ROLL SHAFT BEARINGS ALIGNED IN A PLANE, ROLL SUPPORT SHAFTS MOUNTED IN SAID BEARINGS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID WALLS. EACH SHAFT HAVING A GEAR OF THE SAME PITCH RADIUS, WHEREBY TO ESTABLISH A PITCH PLANE AT A FIXED LEVEL ABOVE THE PLANE OF THE LOWER ROLL SHAFT BEARINGS, ROTATABLE GEARS SUPPORTED INTERMEDIATE AND IN MESHING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GEARS ON SAID SHAFTS, WHEREBY TO PROVIDE A CONTINUOUS GEAR TRAIN, TOGETHER WITH MEANS ABOVE EACH OF THE LOWER ROLL-SUPPORTING SHAFTS TO ESTABLISH AN UPPER ROLL SHAFT BEARING SPACING ABOVE THE PITCH PLANE DIFFERENT FROM THE SPACING OF THE LOWER ROLL SHAFT BEARINGS BELOW THE PITCH PLANE, UPPER ROLL SHAFTS SUPPORTED ON SAID MEANS, A EAR ON EACH SAID UPPPER ROLL SHAFT OF THE SAME CIRCULAR PITCH AS THE GEAR ON THE LOWER ROLL SHAFT THEREBENEATH, AND MESHING THEREWITH, THE PITCH RADIUS OF SUCH UPPER GEARS CORRESPONDING TO THE SPACING OF THE UPPER ROLL SHAFT BEARINGS ABOVE THE PITCH PLANE, WHEREBY THE PERIPHERAL SPEED OF THE UPPER AND LOWER ROLLS AT THE PITCH PLANE IS THEESAME DESPITE SAID DIFFERENCE IN THEIR SPACINGS. 